Area 27 (Atlantic, Northeast)

Project UK is working towards an environmentally sustainable future for UK fisheries by running Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) on 12 UK fisheries that have been selected by the UK seafood supply chain. They were selected due to their importance for the UK market.

Project UK has been developed in response to the demand from the supply chain, retailers, industry and NGOs. The project will commission an MSC pre-assessment to inform and develop an action plan for each fishery, which will identify improvements.

King scallops are found on clean firm sand and fine gravel and in currents, which provide good feeding conditions. They occur along the European Atlantic coast from northern Norway, south to the Iberian Peninsula. The bathymetric range of distribution is from the low tide mark to over 100 m, but it is most common in waters of 20-70 m.

King Scallops are a non-quota species and are therefore not subject to a TAC. Total landings of scallops in 2017 by the UK fleet in the North Sea, West of Scotland and Irish Sea was 15,954t - approximately 60% of total landings were caught in the Central North Sea and the Irish Sea. Landings were dominated by Scottish-registered vessels (77%), with 90% of landings being made by vessels over 10m in length.

Project UK is working towards an environmentally sustainable future for UK fisheries by running Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) on 12 UK fisheries that have been selected by the UK seafood supply chain. They were selected due to their importance for the UK market.

Project UK has been developed in response to the demand from the supply chain, retailers, industry and NGOs. The project will commission an MSC pre-assessment to inform and develop an action plan for each fishery, which will identify improvements.

King scallops are found on clean firm sand and fine gravel and in currents, which provide good feeding conditions. They occur along the European Atlantic coast from northern Norway, south to the Iberian Peninsula. The bathymetric range of distribution is from the low tide mark to over 100 m, but it is most common in waters of 20-70 m.

No TAC is set in the Channel scallop fishery. Total landed weight of scallops in 2015 by the UK fleet in area VIId and VIIe was 8,976t. Of this 97% was landed by scallop dredge (2% beam trawl and 1% others). Landings from VIId and VIIe were also dominated by English registered vessels (62%) although Scottish registered vessels also landed significant quantities (36%). Finally, of the catches from dredge fisheries almost all (95%) was by vessels over 10m LOA registered length.

Reason for Inactivity: The timeline for the UK Crab and Lobster FIP came to an end in April 2023. The final annual review of the FIP indicated that no performance indicator would be expected to fail in an MSC assessment, however there are still activities underway to ensure the fishery demonstrate best practice against the MSC Standard. Demonstrable progress against the majority of the remaining actions is reliant on the delivery of the national Crab and Lobster Fisheries Management Plan by Defra, which is due to be published by the end of 2023. These actions include the implementation of a harvest strategy and harvest control rules, fishery specific objectives and decision making processes. 

Project UK is working towards an environmentally sustainable future for UK fisheries by running Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) on 12 UK fisheries that have been selected by the UK seafood supply chain. They were selected due to their importance for the UK market.

Project UK has been developed in response to the demand from the supply chain, retailers, industry and NGOs. The project will commission an MSC pre-assessment to inform and develop an action plan for each fishery, which will identify improvements.

The UK Western Channel and Celtic Sea: Brown crab and European lobster pot and trap fisheries are comprised of both the inshore and offshore, whereby smaller vessels (mainly under 10m) operate closer to the coast and larger vessels split time between the two marine areas.

Fishery management jurisdiction is organised on two different scales around England. Beyond 6 nautical miles, DEFRA and the MMO are responsible for managing crab fisheries whereas from the coast out to 6 nautical miles, responsibility lies with the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs).

No TACs are set for the Western Channel & Celtic Sea edible crab fishery or the Southwest lobster fishery. 

Total landings of crab were around 8,000t for the areas covered by the Western Channel stock assessment for each of the years 2013-2015, comprising 5,000t from the UK, 2,000t from France, and 1,000t from the Channel Islands.  Landings for the Celtic Sea stock assessment area are estimated at 3,000t, comprising 2,000t from the UK, and 1,000t from Ireland. 

Total landings of lobster have been at between 200t and 300t for the area covered by the Southwest lobster stock unit for each of the years from 2006-2013.

Note: This FIP went inactive on February 1, 2019.

Odyssey Enterprises (Seattle) hosts a fishery improvement project (FIP) for Barents Sea crab with a goal to contribute to fishery readiness for MSC certification.  Odyssey Enterprises is a buyer of Russian snow crab and Russian red king crab.  Red king crab graduated the FIP when the fishery became MSC certified in 2018.  Snow crab entered the MSC program in March 2019. 

Snow and red king crab are invasive species in the Barents Sea ecosystem.  The purpose of the FIP was to contribute improvements to help raise the Barents Sea crab fisheries to the MSC standard.  The FIP unit of assessment is the Russian fishery.  The FIP pre-assessment, planning and tracking have also included Norway due to joint management efforts and the two jurisdictions covering the stock in the Barents Sea.  Despite several moving parts between Russian and Norwegian fisheries, and to recent efforts by other countries to access the stocks, rational management of the crab fisheries has been implemented, and with extraordinary progress year on year.

Overview of the Status of the Crab Fisheries in the Barents Sea

Snow crab and red king crab are invasive species in the Barents Sea.  Today these species are harvested commercially in Russia and Norway by vessels utilizing traps (crab pots).  Snow crab and red king crab are designated as sedentary species within their respective economical zones, which means the crab are managed domestically and not inter-governmentally.  The two countries have a history of cooperating on fishery science and management that has resulted in common principles to manage the crab as a new biological resource across their ranges in the Barents Sea.  In Norway, snow crab is fished partly under quota and partly as an invasive species with unrestricted fishing, depending on the location of fishing. In Russia, both species crab are fished within quotas and other harvest control rules and tools that are based on rational harvesting of the stock.  Russia and Norway operate a joint fisheries management agency and continute to share science. Their fleets no longer fish in each others national waters for crab, as they did until 2017, however.